Healing Hands
by thisisfaycountri
Summary: After James' long letter, Harry has a lot of questions. A lot of questions, and a sinking feeling that he needs to find a healer. Good thing his father had mentioned a healer that could answer a lot of his questions while she was seeing him.
1. Chapter 1

"I was told my father was an Auror," Harry says into the silent room. The blond witch across from him gives him a small nod to let him know she'd heard his silent question.

"He was, for all of a week. Siri dragged him to training until their first mock battle. James couldn't handle it. Broke down and walked out. Siri graduated and became a personal investigator, claiming it made more money. Your father signed up for healer training the day he left the ministry. Healer Yale took him in, he owned a small office about an hour from London. He became a full healer just before he had to leave with you. Yale told him the practice was his if he ever wanted it, no matter who was running it after Yale retired." The witch explains evenly.

She'd been shocked to get an owl from Harry, though maybe, she shouldn't have been. James was smart, he knew he was being watched, and he had apparently put safetys in place at his honorary brothers home in case something had ever happened to him.

Her eyes wander involuntarily to the photo album on the table between them, along with a note that was yellowed in age. Still, James' looping cursive was all over it, edge to edge and it seemed to be several feet of ink covered parchment right down to the bottom. She wanted to flip it over just to see if he wrote on the backside as well. Knowing him, he probably had.

"What made you contact me, Harry?" she asks, looking up again. His bright green eyes were blown wide, and he was chewing on his bottom lip like he was a starving man. She wanted to chide him like she would her own son if he was caught doing that but reminded herself patiently that Harry was raised with muggles, not in her home.

No matter how wrong that entire sentence sounded.

"I… I was cleaning out an old room at Sirius' place. It looked used and we had been told to ignore it but… well, I don't listen to direct orders well. So on one of my sleepless nights, I went rummaging, Found a trunk that stuck my finger, and when the lid opened I found… this, among other things." he trails off vaguely and I wait. When he doesn't continue I raise an eyebrow.

"Forgive me, but that doesn't tell me why you contacted me."

"I didn't want to talk to your husband yet," he mutters back. He sounds petulant.

"Why don't you want to talk to him?"

"Because! My father said he was…" he trails off, making a face that I can't read. Then he seems to realize what he's said and looks at me, wide-eyed like I was going to strike him down.

"That he was his lover? I know. We both had lovers at the time. I still have mine. I've never actually shared my husband's bed." I relax, now that I know what this meeting is about. James must have written Harry a letter telling him what really happened. That would explain why it was so long-winded.

"So James told you he was actually your carrier." I muse. At the choked sound he makes I smile.

"We were pregnant at the same time. I quickly became a good friend of your fathers. You both lived at the manor with us until Dumbledore got suspicious. That was when your godmother became your 'mum' and you all went into hiding."

"Dumbledore?" he murmurs, to himself mostly. I nod but don't elaborate when he glances at the note he has on the table.

"May I?" I ask, moving a hand towards the photo album. He nods a bit jerkily and then he pushes the album to me himself. I flip it open carefully and have to grin at the first picture as James waves at me enthusiastically. My husbands' image rolls his eyes, but doesn't remove his hands from around his lover and ducks his head to press his face into James' hair. I still saw the grin he was hiding. I notice that his hands are resting on James' rounded stomach. The second picture on the first page was slightly larger, and I was surprised to see myself and my infant son in it. We were sitting on a couch, and my lover was standing next to the chair. James had his feet on my husbands' lap and his slight bump from the first picture was a mountain as he lays on his back, nearly nine months pregnant. My sister must have taken the picture because none of us are looking at the camera. It looks as if James fell asleep while having his feet rubbed.

Various other pictures are in the book. None of them in any real order. Some from our school days, some while James was pregnant, some while Harry was a small child. There was even a few from after they had gone into hiding from Dumbledore. Lily's bright red hair fanning out as she coos at her year-old godson was an image I hadn't expected.

"Dad says that Dumbledore is the one making all this happen. That if he died it was because Dumbledore had ordered Voldemort to do it."

"Yes."

"Why would Tom follow Dumbledore?" he mutters, probably to himself again.

"Not Tom, Harry. Tom is a good man, who wasn't even in the country until about a year ago. He'd been studying in Brazil for the past five years, and in America for at least seven before that. Voldemort is a guise that Dumbledore is using. We don't know who he is, or what Dumbledore plans for him." I correct him, not wanting him to mistake the Tom I had staying in my home with the thing that Dumbledore had created. He nods distractedly, staring off to my left slightly.

"Harry?" I call when he doesn't talk for a few minutes and I've finished the photo album.

"I don't know what Voldemort is, but he used the bones from Toms father to create himself." He murmurs, eyes snapping into focus at me. I want to rip Dumbledore apart at the look in Harry's eyes. He looked… dead.

"That's not possible, Harry. Toms father is very much alive. He lives in Greenland. He is a muggle, yes, but he never died." I correct again. A pained look crosses his face and he shakes his head but doesn't say anything else. There's another, long pause of silence.

"What is it you wanted from me?" I decide on getting to the point of this midnight meeting.

"I wanted to know if that was true. Well, not if it was true but... if it was true, why is it that no one has ever tried to get me back to my father?"

"Oh, Harry, you think we didn't try?" I breathe out, lurching forward. The move seems to surprise him and I quickly sit back again.

"We tried every day for seven years to get you into our custody. Dumbledore blocked us at every chance. He sealed James' will and placed you with those muggles. My husband still hasn't given up finding a way to get you into his custody, but he's doing it quietly now and that's taking a lot longer. We told my son not to tell you. He doesn't remember you, but he knows that you're my husbands' son. I think, perhaps, that's why you don't get along all that well." I muse, getting a small smile out of the child. He was 14, had just fought for his life for over nine months and now he's learned that the people he was supposed to trust were trying to kill him.

"I don't know what I want. I want… I don't want to stay with you, I don't want to see… him. Not yet. But I don't want to keep staying with Sirius if he's lying to me."

"Sirius isn't lying to you. Neither is Remus. They took an unbreakable vow to keep you safe, to keep themselves from slipping up. They were never allowed to talk about your parents unless they knew that the person knew about them already. Since you didn't know…" I trail off as his whole posture relaxes.

"That's why I was able to leave without any difficulty tonight. And probably why the room was unlocked when he knew that I have had a habit of… wandering lately." he says, relief in his voice.

"You can talk to him now. But only when you know you're alone and I wouldn't do it anywhere you think Dumbledore could have something recording your conversation." I caution him. There's another long pause and I sigh.

"If that's all…"

"Three more things. Please." Harry cuts in quickly. I settle back into the chair and he's back to chewing on his lip again.

"Can I write you? If I have questions about my dad? Or my… father. Or just… I don't think I can talk about this with anyone else yet." he's pleading with me even as I'm nodding.

"Of course you can. Any time. What else?"

"Will you give this to your husband?" he asks, sliding a bundle towards me. I open it cautiously, seeing an old envelope with my husbands' name in James' script. Another, fresher looking envelope is also there, and an almost messy scrawl across it makes me realize it must be Harry's handwriting. A photo album similar in color to the one on the table in front of me is also in the bundle. I fold the paper around it again, nodding once, and waiting expectantly for the final thing. He huffs, and his face goes bright red.

"I need… can you do a check up on me? I know that dad said you were a healer as well…"

"A Checkup? Why?" I ask, alarmed. His face darkens and he shakes his head once.

"Just… a full checkup, please. If… after I read dads letter I realized… just, if I'm right, I'm going to need a checkup. Please." he pleads with me. I huff at the complete non-answer but agree and make him move to the bed in the small room. He lays back carefully and closes his eyes as my wand begins waving around him.

Slight dehydration, nothing a glass of water won't fix. Malnutrition, but I already knew that with his height. No bruising, no broken bones though his right hand must be painful to use with the way the bones reset. His eyes were several degrees worse then the prescription he was using. And…

"Oh, Harry!" I nearly drop my wand and he winces without opening his eyes.

"Damn."

"Harry James! You are 14!" I choke out, stumbling to sit on the edge of the bed. His eyes snap open and he watches me wearily.

"Fifteen now."

"Not the point young man!"

"It's the age of consent in the wizarding world," he mutters, though he's not looking at me when I send a glare his way.

"Seeing as how you turned 15 an hour ago and you're-" I pause and flick my wand impatiently here, waiting for the results-

"Twelve weeks pregnant! I don't see how that's consensual! Whose the father?" I demand, ready to rip into whoever had defiled the fourteen-year-old. His face falls immediately and tears spring to his eyes so fast that my anger deflates into bewilderment.

"Harry?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," he mutters, sniffling as he sits up.

"Harry, whoever got you pregnant needs to not only pay for it but support you! You can't just let him-"

"He's dead so there isn't much he can do to support me!" he snaps loudly, cutting off my rant. I stutter to a stop, wide-eyed as he flings his legs off of the bed and stands, going to pace the room. I watch him, eyeing his loose fitting shirt as my brain processes what it was he said. Dead? No one has died that recently, at least…

"Oh, Harry. Cedric?" I murmur, and his whole body cringes away from me, giving me a good idea that I'd guessed correctly. It's silent as I take that in and he stands facing away from me. His shoulders are shaking and I know he's crying. Finally, I stand and move behind him, unsure if he'd want any comfort from me of all people or not.

"Are you keeping the child?"

"Yes!" his furious, fast answer has me smiling despite the situation.

"Good. will you let me help you?"

He turns to look at me in surprise and I touch his shoulder gently.

"You don't think that they will let you keep the child, do you? No matter who the father is, you're the savior. You can't be anything but pure and light, you know that."

"So I, what? Runaway?"

"Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

~_~_~_~_~ 2 years later ~_~_~_~_~

"James!" I call the 17-month-olds name sternly and he drops the cats tail immediately, turning to me with wide green eyes as Nox streaks out of the room. A deep chuckle behind me has me turning to glare at my housemate.

"He's got the 'I'm innocent' eyes down. Wonder who he got that from?" Tom says, giving me a pointed look. I pout but scoop up my son and grin at his shrieking laugh.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I mutter, nuzzling James' bronze colored hair. He'd kept Cedrics' color, but unfortunately, it had my texture and ability to defy gravity.

"Da!" he cries, thrusting his arms into the air. I chuckle at him, smoothing his hair from his forehead and kissing his bare skin.

"I love you calling my name, kiddo, but I can't wait for you to learn a few more words." I murmur, shifting him to my hip as I carry him to the kitchen. Tom was still sitting on the couch, where he'd been watching James while I cooked. I settle James in his high chair and his hands shoot out to grab at me as I back away.

"Da! Nana!" he exclaims, bouncing slightly.

"No bananas, James, you had those for lunch. We're having spaghetti."

Well, he was having spaghetti o's because I didn't trust him with a fork and he had already proven that he could eat those with a spoon but, he didn't need to know that.

"Da!" he calls again and I glance his way to see him reaching for his sippy cup, just out of reach on the table. He's pouting adorably, and I grin at him. I set his bowl and plastic spoon on the high chairs table and move the cup into his reach.

"Are you all unpacked?" Tom asks as he finally moves into the kitchen. I nod absently as I settle next to James, watching as most of the sauce hits his face and not his mouth. He makes happy humming noises as he eats though, so I guess it's good.

"I'm sorry," he says, again. I want to smack him, but I just roll my eyes.

"Really. It's my fault we had to move again."

"Yeah, it is, but it's not like I haven't been the reason before and you didn't rib me about it."

"Because you had a two week old and was a hormonal mess. I wasn't touching your emotions with a ten-foot pole," he mutters, and I stick my tongue out at him.

"Mature," he says dryly.

"So, when does school start around here?" I ask as I turn back to watching James.

"Tomorrow. You're starting next week though. I signed you up as a senior. I wanted to give you a week to settle in and then get things started. Have you heard back from any of the healers yet?" he asks curiously.

"No." I murmur, frowning at the thought.

"Narcissa would always be willing, you know that."

"Narcissa would pass me just because she likes me." I point out. He laughs, nodding at my point.

"Your father wrote! I forgot. It's on your desk in your study. Draco did as well, he wants to visit." he says at the mention of Narcissa. I nod at that a little hesitantly.

I'd stayed at my fathers' manor with Narcissa and Draco until I'd given birth to James when Tom suggested that I go with him to the United States in my hiding. Father had visited twice, once in Arizona just a few months after I moved with Tom. I had a slight meltdown with James, and he had come and calmed me down. Again when I passed my NEWTS early two weeks ago in Alaska to celebrate with me. Draco had visited over a dozen times, any time he can beg off with his mother, who visited at least once a month. She'd only managed to leave him behind twice, once when he was playing Quidditch on the day she visited and once when he was sick. Even school didn't keep Draco in Britain, he was wrapped around James' fingers.

Tom had insisted that I get a muggle education alongside my magical one, and after a year I had to agree with him. I was going to double up and study both healing in the magical world and being a doctor in the muggle one. I wasn't exactly hiding- I still used my full name, I wasn't wearing a glamour, and I didn't have any polyjuice on hand. But before I left Britain I'd been emancipated, and so they couldn't track my magic. After my NEWTS, I had a full pass to doing any magic I want.

"James!" I scowl when I feel something wet hitting my face. He squeals, laughing, scooping up more spaghetti o's. I catch his hand before he can fling it at Tom.

"Your child is a menace Potter," Tom says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Just let me sleep," I whine, smacking the hands on my shoulders away half-heartedly.

"You promised to go shopping," Tom growls, swatting back at me. I yelp when he catches my ear and I glare up at his blurry image.

"Screw off Tom!"

"It's almost 11! I've fed, bathed, changed, and entertained your child so you could sleep in, but now you have to go to the store," he tells me, shaking me when I go to roll away from him again.

"Fine. let me shower and I'll take him with me." I mutter, sitting up. He makes a satisfied noise and leaves the room with a giggling James I hadn't noticed. I shower and even manage to grab a sandwich before he's shoving me, James, and his wallet out the door. He'd given me the keys to his vehicle in Alaska after I'd passed my driving test, and I'd been happily driving us everywhere since. I even drove the vehicle from Alaska to Washington when he flew out early to get the house set up.

"Chill out kid," I mutter to a squirming James as I undo the harness on his car seat.

"Da! up!" he whines, reaching out. I settle him on my hip obediently and he chatters at me happily as we walk into the store. I settle him into the cart's seat, caging him in by leaning over slightly and resting my elbows on the handlebars and using my arms to block him in place so he doesn't wiggle around with the belt on. He immediately grabs the zip on my jacket, contenting himself with fumbling with the metal grip.

"James, only food goes in our mouths." I chide gently when he tries to pull the metal piece into his mouth. I move it out of his grip and start pointing out colors to him before he can start whining. He loved it when I pointed out colors for some reason.

"Hi!" he says brightly, interrupting my quiet monologue. I glance up at the woman he had greeted with a sheepish look.

"Sorry. He doesn't know a stranger." I murmur. She was beautiful, with pale skin and brown hair. She looked to be mid twenty or early thirties and had amber colored eyes.

"He's precious," she says back, smiling at a giggling James.

"Thanks." I beam, stooping to kiss James' cheek.

"Da!" he squeals, making a kissing face back even though I'd already moved away. I glance sideways at the woman and she seemed surprised. Most everyone was when they heard James call me Da. it wears off quickly and she smiles again.

"How old is he?"

"Almost a year and a half."

"Beautiful." she coos, moving slightly closer. James looks up at her, slightly shy now, and she makes a soft gasping sound.

"Oh, you'll look just like my Edward when you get older dear." she sighs.

"He takes a lot after his… mother. I think the only thing he got from me is my eyes and my nose. And his attitude." I muse, tapping James' nose and making him make a face.

"Did you just move here?" she asks as she moves back, going back to her cart.

"Yeah, my uncle and I just moved in last week. I start school next week." I say Idly as I glance around for the cheerios I'd come down this aisle for. I can see her glance at James again with a slightly confused look and I sigh.

"She's dead." I murmur without looking at her.

"Oh, I didn't mean-"

"You're not the first person to look at me funny because I'm a 17-year-old single father," I tell her, flashing a smile at her.

"What grade will you be in then?"

"I'm a senior. Should have been a junior, but I took some time off after Jamie was born and I studied enough to skip a grade." I admit. I didn't admit that I had studied most of what they call 'middle school' and my 'freshman' year in the six months that I was at the Malfoy Manor.

"You'll be in the same grade as most of my children then. If you ever need anything, ask any of the Cullen children, alright?" she tells me cheerfully. I nod to show I've heard her and she says a goodbye to James before she moves on and we continue our shopping adventure. James demands that I let him walk from the car to the house and since it was only one step and there was a railing for him to grab onto I allow him, especially when Tom appears to get him inside and keep him entertained while I put things away.

I felt stupid, but a little niggling part of my brain just wouldn't let my encounter with Mrs. Cullen go. I'd pieced it together halfway home.

She'd been too pretty, too perfectly posed. My DADA training kept pointing out her eyes until I realize with a frustrated groan that she was a vampire. An animal-loving one, if her eyes were any indication.

When I get home I notice that Tom is already cooking hamburgers for himself, to my surprise. He grins at my shocked expression before lifting his hand, which had been dangling by his side, out of a curious James' reach. Tom smoked wizarding cigarettes, the nonharmful, but still addictive kinds. They were safe around James, or I would have kicked him out of the house with them by now. They had a calming draught laced in the filter. Not enough to make him completely calm but enough to have the same effect as menthol without harming him.

"Kids can't have these Jamie," he tells the toddler patiently. James huffs and moves away to the chair I usually sit in. I watch as Tom hovers over him but lets him climb into the chair and situate himself to stand on it so that he can see over the table.

"Nana!" He demands next. I ignore the demand, continuing to put things away.

"Da! Nana!" he slaps at the table this time and I turn to look at him, but still make no move to start peeling his banana and I wait. His face scrunches up and I brace myself for one of his tantrums, but before he starts wailing his face brightens considerably.

"Da! Nana, peas!" he claps at himself for remembering the lesson I'd been trying to get him to learn for several months now.

"Good, Jamie!" I praise, peppering kisses over his giggling face before I turn to peel and cut a banana for him. Tom places him in his high chair with only minimal protest, and while he's eating the banana I cut up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into pieces he could eat with his fingers. He devours that with his cup of milk While I eat my own sandwhich and an apple. I move into the living room and he follows, bouncing behind me as I settle on the ground. He knows that after lunch 'da' spends a whole hour with him before they both take a nap. At least, on the days that I'm home when he wakes up. I pull some of his blocks to me and we start stacking them and, again, naming colors and letters. I know he doesn't know a lot of them, but I still like to go over them while his attention is so focused on what I'm saying. He proudly helps me pack all the toys away in the box in the corner of the living room when the hour is up. Well, all but the soft cuddly fox that Draco had bought for him when I was still pregnant. He hardly went anywhere without it, but it was being washed this morning so it hadn't made it to the store with us. It didn't help that it was nearly pure white and collected everything.

"Nap time Jamie." I murmur to him as I stand, stretching. I bend to pick him up, but he backs up with a quick 'no!' and a determined expression as he turns to the stairs in the hallway. I roll my eyes. It took me 30 seconds to climb the stairs, but if he wanted to do it, I'd hover like the nervous parent I was and let him cling to the rails and haul himself up the stairs for five minutes. The excited squeal and bouncing steps of my baby boy as he makes it to the top all by himself is worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

"Harry, if you don't leave now you'll be late for school." Tom's voice from the doorway makes me glance up, but I don't stop sliding my fingers through James' hair. I'd finally gotten him to go back to sleep after he'd woke up from some kind of nightmare and I was reluctant to let him go. I was dressed and had forgone eating breakfast because I'm pretty sure it would just make an unwanted appearance. I'd gone to four other schools since I started going to muggle school- Wisconsin, Arizona, Montana, and Alaska, in that order- and I still hated leaving James with Tom every day.

Not that Tom wasn't great with James, he adored my kid no matter what he tells me. He was the one who gave in to James' pleading eyes more often than not, and I'd always catch him sneaking my son snacks after I've told him he can't have anymore. When I confronted him about it last time, he'd huffed and said that just because I wasn't spoiling my son doesn't mean his Uncles couldn't. And it was true that Draco spoiled him just as much.

"I got you a bike if that's more of an incentive then being to school on time," Tom says a few minutes later when I still haven't let my son go. I perk up at that, glancing his way to see his arm extended with some kind of key on the end of his fingertips. I set James down carefully and pluck the keys from his grasp before giving him a puzzled look.

"I hid it in the shed out back. It's in the front yard now," he tells me, waving me out of the room and setting a monitoring charm on James so that he knew if he woke again.

"You have ten minutes to get to school, by the way," he tells me as I jog down the stairs. I curse and grab my back before I move swiftly out the door and barely register the sleek navy blue bike before I'm clambering on. I'd gotten my license for a bike when I was in Alaska before I got the one for the car, but a bike wasn't practical when I had a toddler. Tom had hinted at getting me one for my birthday, so I wasn't surprised he had gotten me one, I just hadn't expected it to be until I turned 18.

I knew where the school was, thankfully, from Tom pointing it out earlier last week when he actually accompanied me to the store. I pull up and the parking lot is empty, though I make it to the office before the bell rings. I give the secretary a sheepish look when she looks up at me in surprise.

"I got lost on the way, sorry. I'm Harry, I'm supposed to start today?" I tell her, trailing off at the end uncertainly. Her face clears and she nods at me happily.

"Right! Mr. Riddle. I'm Ms. Claire, and-"

"Er, it's Potter." I interrupt as gently as possible. Her brow furrows and I shift a little self consciously.

"I live with my uncle. His name is Riddle, but I kept my fathers name. Potter." I tell her a little more firmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He didn't tell me that when he… but that's fine, I can change it quickly." she's at her keyboard, and her fingers are flying over the keys as she does something before she's beaming at me again, disarming me.

"So! You're a senior, yeah? And you already have your gym credit, good. You still need an English credit, so I'll put that in your schedule, and you need a computer credit, so I'll put that here… oh. Well, those are the only two credits that you need to graduate here it looks like. Is there any classes you want to take, or do you want to fill in some electives?" she asks, throwing me off. I didn't need another math credit? Or science?

"Uh, do you have advanced science classes? I was in AP last year at my old school…" I trail off as she turns to her computer again.

"We have an advanced biology and an advanced Chemistry, and your credits from your other schools would allow you in there. You have quite a lot here. Hmm…" she trails off and picks up her phone. I'm confused as she calls someone named 'mike' down to her desk and then flashes me a big smile.

"It's just the vice principal. We started a program last year for students interested in either going to school later or leaving early, specifically those that are advanced enough they could take college classes either online or at the school in Port Angeles. You're a good candidate for that, especially since…" she trails off, but I get what she's hinting at. Especially since I have a kid at home.

I spend the next hour talking to the vice principal- who also insists I call him Mike, to my surprise. We agree that I would take my advanced Biology and Chemistry class here, along with my literature and computer class. I also signed up for a history class, because I'd been fascinated by American history since I started going to school here. I came to school an hour late, had two classes and lunch before another two classes, and left an hour early. I would be taking two classes online through the school to start on my degree early. They weren't medical classes, but they counted as college credits. It was actually a math class and an introductory class this semester. Since I was taking them through the school, Mike had managed to get the okay for me like he had two other students, though they were only taking the introductory class because they only skipped one hour. He even suggested that after Christmas I would be able to take another class because I only needed a half credit of the computer class. All in all, I was very happy and even managed to make it to my 'first' class of the day with a minute to spare. It was American History, and thankfully the teacher didn't make me say anything about myself and just directed me to a seat near the middle of the class. I immediately notice that one of the Cullen 'kids' was in the class. A blonde boy, that was taller then I was and built like me. I barely acknowledge his small nod with one of my own before I'm focused on the teacher. I had biology next and had another, much larger Cullen boy in my class as well. He tried to talk to me, but I just gave him a smile I tried to make polite and motioned to the teacher in a 'pay attention' kind of way. I was nervous enough as it was, I didn't need a vampire getting me in trouble to add to it.

My day went crashing down at lunch. I'd been sitting by myself, digging into the lunch that I had packed before James had woke up when I felt something smack into the back of my head.

~_~_~_ Jasper_~_~_~

"He's not very talkative." I murmur to my family as we sit at the lunch table.

"Yeah! He shushed me when I tried to introduce myself earlier!" Emmett agrees, pulling Rosalie closer to him as he pouts. He'd been excited to meet the teen Esme had mentioned since she had talked about him over a week ago, but now he was mostly confused.

"Did you do it in the middle of class?" Rosalie asks dryly and rolls her eyes when his pout just deepens.

" What had Esme so fascinated, anyway?" Bella asks in confusion, glancing around. She hadn't been there when Esme had come home gushing about the boy and his kid, but we had all gotten an earful about how we needed to be as helpful as possible with the boy.

"He has a kid, apparently," Edward says, a little doubtful. This boy was supposed to be 17 or 18, and she said the kid was over a year old.

"That's not uncommon." she points out, peeling her orange instead of truly paying attention to the conversation.

"He's nearly a year and a half old and he's our age. It's a little uncommon." Edward argues back, glancing up at the door.

"What's he thinking?" I ask when I see he's spotted the new kid. He was short, shorter then Bella, and though he had muscle on him he hid in baggy clothes. His hair was a wild mess and his eyes were framed by black, square glasses that fit his face well.

"Hmm. I can't tell. I can still hear it, but it's like it's in a language I don't know." he muses. Thankfully he's more amused than annoyed.

"What language don't you know?" Bella teases and he gives her a playful glare.

"He's British if that helps." I point out. Bella looks surprised at this before her excitement hits me so fast I'm almost dizzy.

"No way! Is his name Harry!?" She asks, dropping her orange to dig her fingers into Edwards' arm in her excitement. I drop my head into my hands as it buzzes around the room. Edward makes an alarming sound.

"Uh, yeah? About 5'4, glasses, wild black hair, in need of a new wardrobe-" Emmett starts, but she cuts him off again.

"Has a one in a half-year-old and just moved here. Does he live with his Uncle?"

"We don't know Love. what's got you so excited? You're giving Jasper a headache." Edward chides. She settles immediately, even though it was still buzzing along her skin and sparking out every once in awhile.

"Where is he? Is he here?" She starts looking around the room and, confused, I point him out to her. He was alone, digging into a dish that was steaming. She sees him and her excitement jumps again, but I'm surprised when Anger spikes, too. She takes a notebook with her as she moves across the lunchroom, attracting quite a bit of attention.

"What is she-"

"Shh. She's happy." Alice cuts Edward off with a small smirk. My wife had been silent all day, and that playful look tells me this was why. A loud smacking sound draws my attention again. My whole family was shocked- Bella was never violent, and she'd just approached a stranger and smacked him over the head with a five-subject notebook. And she was supposed to be happy? The boy whirls around, mouth open to retaliate as his anger flares into the room. It makes me shiver. It wasn't a fiery, hot anger like most humans. It was cold, biting. It felt like frostbite against my arms and face. It flares out immediately as he registers her face and his face goes slack in shock.

"BELLS!" is shouted, gaining even more attention, not that he seems to care as he practically tackles Bella into a hug. Edward stiffens next to me.

"He's as excited as she is. But there's nothing else." I murmur to him when he looks like he's about to stand up. He stays put but doesn't relax.

"When did you leave Phoenix? And why are you here? Hows your mum? And Phil? Did you finally get a phone? How long have you been here? What-" the boys excited babbling is cut off as Bella detangles herself from the clinging embrace that she had returned wholeheartedly. They were both bubbling with excitement and joy, and it made me smile even if I hadn't wanted to.

" Calm, Harry. The better question is what are you doing here? I have family here at least. You just move when the mood strikes Tom. How's James? Oh, I bet he's adorable! I can't believe I missed his birthday!" she babbles just as much, though at a lower volume, and soon enough all the students are focusing on their meals again. They talk and laugh for over 15 minutes before Bella finally glances our way.

"I want you to meet my boyfriend," she says in a matter of fact way. Edward relaxes slightly more at that. The boy makes a face at the commanding way she'd said it, but nods, picking up his dish and putting it in a lunch box before looping their arms.

"You have to come see James tonight! He's walking like a pro now, scaring me half to death every five minutes. He has a fascination with Nox's tail. He's talking, too. All he really says is 'da' 'no' and 'nana' but we have gotten a 'tom' and 'peas' out of him a few times. He refuses to take naps in the morning anymore, so I'm sure Tom is ecstatic about that now that I'm back in school. You know where the old Willis place is?"

"No, but I'm sure I know someone who does."

"You should come see us for dinner! Tom won't mind. And James doesn't know a stranger." the boy finishes as they reach our table, still focused on Bella.

"This is Edward and his family. The Cullens. You've met Esme, I think." she introduces us. Before any of us can ask any questions or introduce ourselves, he turns to us with a bright, eager smile that lasts for half a second before it goes slack and his face changes to one of horror.

A burning, deep sorrow hits me so hard in the gut I actually dry heave, jackknifing into a bent over position so fast I crack the seat underneath me as I move. Alice makes a surprised sound and touches my back, but I shake her off immediately. It hurt. Every nerve ending on my body throbbed with the pain washing off of this boy in waves. I couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't even pretend to breathe-

And then it's gone. The echo of the pain is there, sharp and throbbing like a headache, but not nearly as all-consuming as it was before.

"What the fuck?" I mutter, only loud enough for my siblings to hear me.

"He took off." Alice murmurs, hesitantly touching my back again.

"What the hell set that off?" I demand, louder, and all eyes fall on Bella who was still standing there looking shocked.

"What?"

"He was horrified. And then so sad if I'd been human I would have been puking. What set him off like that?" I ask, impatiently.

"I don't- I've never even seen Harry sad. He's too happy go lucky! He went to school with me for awhile just after James was born. He was above me but the same age and we got along well enough living in the same apartment building. I've never even seen him frown but he was in tears…" she trails off, biting her lip and I exchange a look with my siblings.

"Someone here set him off. Does he know about vampires, maybe?" Alice muses, eyes unfocused. She shakes her head just slightly, answering her own question it seems.

"You didn't see him freak out like that?" I ask, and she shakes her head no again, a sad look on her face. She's feeling guilty now.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just thought if you saw Bella greeting him you saw that, too." I sooth. The bell rings and I look around hesitantly before standing.

"I think you should go talk to him tonight," Alice tells Bella as they head towards the door.

"Okay, we can go after school." She agrees easily enough.

 _AN: There won't be very many POV's outside of Harry, I just needed a Cullen for that last scene and I felt like Jasper would be an easy way to get across what I was wanting out of that first meeting._


	4. Chapter 4

I hadn't expected to see my dead lovers doppelganger sitting as calm as you please at a lunch table in the middle of muggle America. It had caught me off guard, and I'd done the only thing I could think of- ran. I was in the parking lot before I realized what I was doing and only stopped at the thought of getting kicked out of school before I even properly started, especially with the help I was getting from the counselors in the school.

"Fuck," I mutter, fishing out my phone and frantically dialing Tom.

"Harry?" his puzzled voice calms me a little more and I take a deep breath.

"Fuck, Tom. I don't think I can do this." I tell him, my voice cracking slightly. I scrub at my face before I tell him exactly what happened.

"I don't want to go back inside." I murmur when he's quiet. I hear the bell ring distantly and glance around, noticing the kids I could see hurrying to classes.

"Go to your last two classes and come home," he tells me firmly. He didn't often use his 'I'm your guardian do as I say' voice, but I could clearly hear it this time.

"But-"

"Harry. Go. To. Class. Then come straight home. I promise it will be okay. He hasn't been in a class with you yet I doubt he will be now. Text me before you leave, alright?" Tom tells me, even firmer than before. I agree with a grumble and hang up, sprinting back to my biology room since that's where the chemistry class also was. I make a face when I see three of the Cullen kids sitting in the back and waiting expectantly. I make a beeline for a seat in the middle, but the teacher stops me.

"Mr. Potter, we have assigned seats in this classroom." he chides me, pointing me to one next to the bigger of the three who had tried to introduce himself before was. I sit and feel their eyes on me, but I ignore them until the teacher tells us to work on a packet he was handing out with the people around us. They practically corner me and start discussing the first few questions with me, but I could tell that's not what they were really wanting to talk about.

"I didn't catch your names." I finally tell them as I puzzle over a short answer question.

"I'm Emmett. I've been trying to introduce myself to you all day! This is Rosalie, my girlfriend, and Jasper, Alice's boyfriend." The bigger one says happily.

"I'm sorry about Lunch. I wasn't expecting… Your brother…" I trail off again as I try and think about how I'm going to say what I want to say.

"Your brother is the twin to a friend I saw murdered a few years ago. It was a shock." I go for blunt because I don't want to skirt around the issue.

"Oh." the blonde, Jasper, is leaning on the table and looking quite Ill. I give Emmett a puzzled look and he shakes his head, looking worried for his 'brother'.

"How do you know Bella?" Rosalie cuts into our concern rather rudely, but I go with the distraction for what it was.

"I went to school with her when we were fifteen. She used to babysit James for me when I had tutoring sessions and she always came with me when I went for a walk with him. We lived in the same apartment building for about six months before I moved away. She didn't have a phone at the time, and we used to write to each other but it's been awhile since we've done that." I admit a little guiltily. What probably happened was she had written to me, and since we've moved twice since my stay in Arizona it probably got lost in the mail system.

"Esme says that your son is almost a year and a half?" Rosalie asks, more curious than rude now. I nod at her question as I start breaking down a string of chemicals.

"In two weeks, yeah. We made some stupid choices and then a few weeks after James was born she died in an accident while I was watching him. I fought like hell and was told so long as I lived with my uncle, I could raise him." I tell them. They didn't need to know that because Cedric was dead, no one could take my child away from me in the wizarding world. It was very important to them that a parent raises their child if the child is born. What happens to the child before they are born is a different matter completely.

"Your uncle?"

"My father is a rich man, but he has another wife and a son that he has a public image with. He lost custody of me when I was a year old and we're on good terms now but I don't think I would be able to handle living with them full time and I know that it would hurt him politically if I did as well. Are you all done?" I motion to my finished packet and get three blank looks in return.

"What?"

"How could you have that conversation and finish one of Mr. B's famous ' test the waters' packets?"

"Uh, again, what?" I question Emmett as they all start to write.

"He gives us packets to test what we remember, and how much we know of what we will be doing soon. Not very many people actually finish the packets in class." Jasper explains in clearer details. I make a thoughtful noise before shrugging. I take the finished packets to the front when they're done, and when I return I take out the outline for a project I have in American History. I out a few more details on it before I start writing the paper due at the end of the week, but I can feel all three watching me and after fifteen minutes of this I drop my pen with a growl.

"What?" I demand, and Emmett laughs.

"You're just… Curious."

"Sure I am. I'm just a teenage parent, it's not like the world doesn't have plenty of those." I mutter back, packing my things into my bag.

"Will you…" I pause as I think about how to ask what I want from them. Rosalie looks like she's going to say no just because it was me asking, so I turn to Jasper and Emmett, who look weary but willing.

"Tell Bella I'm sorry for running off, and that she's still welcome at the house if she wants to stop by. And… well, tell your brother in particular that I'm sorry, too. It was just such a shock to my system…" I trail off again, but they are both nodding so I take that as an agreement. The bell rings, and I glance around the rapidly emptying room.

"Can you point me towards the English room?" I ask hopefully to the three in front of me.

"I have that next, I can take you!" Emmett offers happily, bouncing in place as Rosalie rolls her eyes at him. I trail the much larger boy to the room and he happily pushes me into a seat next to him.

"You're going to be behind, we're analyzing Death of a Salesman." He says, making a face at it. I groan.

"I did that last year. It shouldn't be too hard." I mutter. I'm sure it was much harder for him because he has probably read it thousands of times.

"We're just analyzing in groups with these packet things. I'll see if I can't pair up with you, I'd been by myself before," he says cheerfully and is heading for the teacher's desk before I can say anything. He comes back with a thumbs up and an empty packet. I scan over the first page and I'm relieved to realize I remember most of it.

"Where did you read this?" Emmett asks after the bell has rung and we'd settled into a comfortable silence.

"Hmm? Alaska. It's where I lived before here."

"No way, us too! Though we moved here a few years ago. Where were you?"

"Kotzebue for awhile, then Fairbanks, and in Port Alexander. My uncle didn't like any of the towns, so we moved a lot."

"I'd say so. We lived near Denali. Have you lived anywhere else besides Alaska and Arizona?"

"Hmm. Dalton Wisconsin, Phoenix, obviously, Winfred and Circle Montana. Alaska was last. Tom wanted to stay in the cold but didn't like any of the towns, so we moved a lot in the past six months or so."

We lapse into silence as we concentrate on what we were doing and I finish that packet off, too. I had a lot more time this time, so I pull out a spare bit of paper and actually started to outline my paper for History.

"What's that?" Emmett asks, butting in, and I roll my eyes.

"It's the history paper for American History, second hour. I have it with your brother." I tell him without looking up.

"Want any help?" he offers, leaning closer eagerly, and after a moment I nod. The next twenty minutes were spent with Emmett trying to explain to me civil right movements of the 1900s and kept trying to make me change the topic I'd chosen to Malcolm X instead of Women's rights. When the hour closes I ask him for directions to the Computer science room and pass that hour blissfully Cullen free. When the bell rings for their final class, I bolt to the office, hand over my papers, and leave a vapor trail to my bike. I barely remember to send an on my way text to Tom before I'm off.

"James!" I call as I enter the house, and I hear his squealing return from the family room. I drop my bag at the door, kick off my shoes on the way, and round the corner only to stop flat at the three blonds in the living room.

"Narcissa!" I exclaimed, hugging the woman as she rounded the couch. Draco was next, holding onto James who eagerly joined the hug before snagging onto me.

"Da!" he exclaims happily. I can feel my eyes watering as I look down at him, the flash of the Cullen I hadn't met yet- Edward, I'm assuming, which wasn't a good sign if he was Bellas boyfriend- hit me again, alongside a view of Cedric's lifeless eyes staring back at me.

"Hey, Jamie." I murmur, kissing at his cheeks and his hair before pulling back to look at the last, waiting blond.

"Hey, dad," I say a little cheekily. He snorts a very undignified sound before pulling me and James into a hug as well.

"Are you feeling better?" he asks softly as he pulls away. Anyone else describing Lucius Malfoy as soft would have gotten Hexed, but I was his last living relative and he was, indeed, very soft when it came to me.

"I will soon. Plenty of cuddles from my baby boy and family time is exactly what I needed." I admit, grinning at him when he smiles at James.

"Come and sit then." he ushers me into the room and I sit on the floor to play with James, though I lean against the chair that my father was occupying.

They calm me down for the next hour, which I am grateful for until Tom clears his throat and glances at the clock again.

"Did you invite Bella to the house after school?" He asks. When I nod he glances at Draco and Lucius.

"Do you three want to stay, or…"

"No, we should go." Lucius sighs out, standing. I scramble up and hug him tightly. Spending six months in his manor had nearly driven me insane, but that was because there was so many people, and so many paintings, constantly around me. I wanted peace and quiet, and even in my own rooms, the portraits talked. I still missed my father, and my pseudo-brother and mother.

"Visit more often," I mutter as he lets go, and he laughs.

"Once this business with Dumbledore is over, I'll try," he promises. I squeeze him again before I let him disappear into the floo, followed by Narcissa and Draco.

"Thank you," I tell a surprised Tom as I hug him.

"For what?"

"For knowing what I was going to need. I needed to spend some time with my family and you let me do that." I explain, pulling away. I glance at James, who was sitting in the middle of the living room and making a mess with a bunch of blocks I'd bought. At least he was being quiet and leaving Nox, who was lounging near the fireplace, alone.

"Da!" his bright voice alerts me to the fact he's caught me staring at him and I grin, sitting on the floor with him. I start our color game again, pointing out colors on the blocks and occasionally on his clothes or mine. We've settled on the floor completely when the doorbell rings.

"Da!" He calls happily again, reaching towards the door of the room we are in.

"Yeah, someone is here. Your old friend is on her way to see you." I tell him. Even if he doesn't remember Bella, he really didn't know a stranger and would probably be asking for hugs within minutes of meeting her again.

After five minutes of waiting, I realize they still haven't come in. I frown, picking James up and bringing him with me as I enter the hallway. Tom was standing in the doorway, blocking it, and I could hear Bella's frantic voice.

"Tom?" I ask, stepping closer. He doesn't move, but he does raise his voice.

"Was there anything you forgot to tell me about your day at school?" he snaps. I frown at his tone and move to see around him. I feel my stomach roll, catching sight of the boy behind Bella, but I force myself to stay put this time.

"No?"

"Really? A coven full of vampires in the vicinity and you didn't think to tell me?" he growls, sending me a glare.

"Oh, that? I learned that last week. Does it bother you?"

"It should bother you!" He spins to face me now and I just give him an unamused look when he does so.

"It doesn't. They're normal, animal eating vampires and they wouldn't' be in human presence if they didn't have some kind of control. Bella's dating one so they can't mean to harm us too much." I point out. I bite the bullet and step around Tom, coming face to face with Bella and Cedric's twin.

"Hi. I didn't introduce myself properly earlier, I'm sorry. I'm Harry, this is James, my son, and that one is Tom, my overprotective uncle." I say specifically to the boy now standing beside Bella.

"I'm Edward. I've heard some… interesting things from my… siblings about you. We didn't know that you knew we were vampires though." he sends a curious look to Bella, and when I glance at her her eyes are narrowed at me.

"You know about Vampires?"

"Of course."

"I didn't!"

"You'd never met one before. Now say hi to James." I push my child into her arms, effectively cutting off the pestering I was about to be getting.

"Are you saying you've met vampires before?" he asks, not dropping the subject.

"Hm. me? No. but he has." I motion to a still angry Tom before I moved them into the room. Bella is talking gibberish with my son and sits in our vacated seats on the floor, while her boyfriend sits on a single chair we have near where she was.

"Da! Nana!" James demands while interrupting Bella and glancing around to find me in the room. I shake my head.

"We will eat soon. Do you want some milk?"

"No! Nana!"

"Tell me no again and I'll make sure you don't have any bananas tomorrow," I warn him. He pouts, and I give him a few seconds before asking in a gentler tone,

"Milk?" he nods, still pouting, and I glance up to see Tom disappearing to get him some.

"So how have you been?" I ask Bella when it's quiet.

"I've been good. Phil and mom are traveling for his games, so I'm staying with Charlie. My father. He's a cop around here. I moved almost a year ago now." she tells me, glancing at the doorway where Tom had disappeared.

"How long have you known about vampires?"

"Since I was thirteen. Something like that." I wave the question off and I hear Tom muttering as he comes back into the room. He gives us all a look as he gives James his milk cup and then sighs.

"Vampires are known, even though they're a muggle. And we didn't tell her first, so…" he trails off, then gives me a pointed look. It takes me a moment, but then I'm jumping up in excitement.

"I can tell her?"

"Yes, you won't get in trouble. I'll write to the ministry and let them know about what's going on if she sees anything happening," he suggests, going to leave the room.

"Wait! Take James." I take him from a pouting Bella and Tom takes him before I turn with a huge grin.

"I get to tell you about magic!"


	5. Chapter 5

When we leave the wizards house, I'm still a little shocked. Something that I haven't felt in a long time. To learn everything I've learned in the past few hours, who wouldn't be shocked. And to top it all off, the 'friend' that had died on Harry wasn't just a friend, he was James' other father, too. Something that Tom had forced Harry to tell us so that we would know a little bit of why he couldn't even look in my direction for more than a few seconds. By the end of our visit, he was better but still couldn't look at me for a long period of time.

And, Esme had been right. His little boy looked exactly as I did as a human child. Bright, Green eyes and all.

"What's wrong?" Bella's murmur next to me in the vehicle has me glancing her way and smiling a little.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just trying to process everything. And think of a way to tell everyone else." I admit. She makes a humming noise of agreement. After a few seconds, though, she turns in her seat to look at me while I'm driving.

"I want to take Harry to the beach."

"Okay?"

"Let me rephrase. I want him and James to go to La Push with me," she says again. I growl in response to the mention of the reservation.

"I don't-"

"I know you don't like them. I know. But Harry is a wizard! Surely you trust him enough to protect me while I'm there." she says in annoyance. I trust Harry fine, But I didn't trust the werewolves even a little bit.

"Fine." I finally sighed, knowing that she would go if I gave my blessing or not. She'd just go with a guilty conscience if she didn't have my okay. She grins, leaning over to kiss my cheek, and all is right in the world.

Five minutes later I'm pulling into my driveway, where I can hear my family anxiously waiting. When I glance at Bella to read her reaction, she's biting her lip and frowning.

"What is it?"

"I'm just… maybe we can tell everyone the basics here, and then Harry can come over sometime this week and explain better?" she asks. It's obvious she's afraid she's going to upset her friend by telling everyone.

"We can do that. I'm sure the others have a project or something in class with him that they can work on so that's not the only reason he comes over."

"Harry won't need much help of anything if he's studying at the same pace he was when we lived in the same apartment building. He absorbs everything like a sponge. He was taking advanced classes on top of skipping a grade." She admits as I open the door for her and she climbs out.

"Yea, he blasted through the packet Mr. B gave us while we were too busy talking to him." Emmett's voice startles Bella from the doorway. At his impatient look, I laugh and usher Bella inside. I wasn't going to be alone in explaining this to them.

"Come on Harry, you said you'd come with us." Bella teases, jumping out of the truck she had picked me up in. I shoot her a glare as I wrestle with an excited James. To be fair, I hadn't been given a choice on the matter.

Jasper, who I had quickly become friends with, had asked me to come over and meet his father and Esme again. When I balked, he'd brought in Bella and she'd begged and whined and pleaded. Eventually, she asked me to cook for her, and that had got me to say yes- she guilt tripped me, saying I haven't cooked for her in ages and she wanted my homemade pizzone rolls. I had agreed to get her to shut up- and because I hadn't had my pizzone rolls in a really, really long time.

"Da!" James giggles as he points at the house. I glance up to see the woman we had met in the market, Esme.

"Hello again lovely," she says, grinning. She meets us on the steps and reaches out, as if to take him, before snatching her hands back.

"Sorry, I didn't think. You probably don't want-"

"Take the menace. He's not allowed to have almonds, he's allergic, but so long as he says please he can have anything else." I tell her, practically dumping James into her startled arms as he laughs. He immediately reaches for her hair.

"James! We don't pull peoples hair!" I exclaimed, catching his small hands. He pouts, but nods. I roll my eyes at him and grin at a still shocked Esme as I walk into the open door behind her.

"Bells, Where am I cooking?" I call behind me, to an amused looking Bella who was following me.

"The kitchen, obviously."

"But where's- oh." I pause in shock at the open plan of the house. I had thought it was going to be hard to find the kitchen in a house this large, but a long island was the only thing separating the living room from the kitchen. I stumble towards it, dumping my bag of groceries on the said island as I go for the stove and the fridge.

"Uh, hi Harry." Jasper's amused voice sounds from the living room.

"Hello, Jazz. Where did you all find this stuff? I thought ours was top of the line!" I ask without looking up. There are some snickers, but I ignore them as I move from the sink to look for the bin.

"Under the sink." Edwards' voice startles me into whirling around.

"Sorry, you stopped thinking in whatever language you usually think in and I heard you asking where the trashcan was," he says a little gentler. I'd managed to hold several conversations with him since his visit to my house, but I still couldn't look him straight in the face for very long.

"Oh, wow." Rosalie's voice has me looking her way and seeing her looking at James, who was snuggled close to Esme but openly studying everyone in the room.

"Wow?" I ask, moving to the counter to start making the pizzone rolls.

"He's just like Edward. Carlisle said his eyes were this color, too."

"He's got the Bulstrode's eyes." I agree, grinning slightly. When it goes quiet I glance up to see several questioning looks.

"My carrier's mother's mother. Violetta Bulstrode. My grandmother was a Black, which is where this comes from," I tug on my black hair and motion to James.

"The texture of our hair is all Potter though."

"What color were Cedric's eyes?" Emmett asks. I hear several smacking sounds as I pause in unloading the groceries. When I glance up he's trying not to pout and Esme, Rosalie, and Jasper was looking upset.

"Grey. But not Malfoy grey. Like…. The color of a dove, kind of. I have a few photos of him. I'll show you sometime." I promise.

"Malfoy grey?" Bella asks as she settles on the island. I see Edward and Jasper shoot her a surprised look like she'd never sat on the countertops before, before leaving her be.

"My father is a Malfoy. I'm the first child of that line in over a hundred years to not have the steel grey color." I explain as I begin mixing the dough. I had cheated and got the premade stuff I had to add water to, but she didn't complain.

"DA!" James yells from across the room a few minutes later, once the conversation fell through and several others had started around the room.

"Yes, James?"

"Nana!"

"Kid, you're going to be a nana if you eat any more of them," I exclaim. I dig into a bag I had with me and pull out a bag of cheerios instead, pouring them into a no-spill bowl I'd bought in a magical shop. I walk through the living room to where Esme and Rosalie were sitting on the floor with him.

"You eat these and I'll let you have a banana with your cheese rolls, okay?" I tell him as I set the bowl in his lap. He makes a face at that and I go to snatch the bowl away before he can try and dump it like he's prone to do if I don't give him what he wants, but he starts eating them anyway.

"Thank you, Jamie." I praise, ruffling his hair before straightening. I wasn't sure he understood everything I said, but I wasn't a fan of talking down to children.

"So, what are you making?" Alice appears in the kitchen near Bella a split second after I see a blur move through the living room in front of me. I pause at that, debating if it was a wizard thing before deciding it was probably a seeker thing.

"Essentially, pizza balls. I put sauce, cheese, pepperoni's, and sausage into a ball of dough and bake them. James doesn't like Sausage and I don't like giving him Pepperoni's, so he gets Cheese balls and cubes of ham." I explain to the excited vampire.

"And why isn't Bella helping?" Emmett asks from the couch he was sitting on.

"Because she's a disaster in the kitchen. She puts her pasta in the microwave." I say, sounding scandalized. She shoves me good-naturedly as the rest of them laugh.

Two hours later James is asleep in Bella's lap and I'm working on a packet that Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were helping me on. American history was a lot different then I was used to even after a year of taking it.

"So, when is James' birthday?" Rosalie asks into the silence we had created around the coffee table.

"February 19th. He was supposed to be born the 29th of July, but you can't induce a pregnancy in a male patient so when he decided he wasn't ready we just had to play a waiting game. Sometimes, a males magic makes the pregnancy longer. The longest to date was over two years. The baby is still born the size and development of a normal birth, but the magic just made it slower. It's usually so that the carrier is healthy. The man who carried for two years was nearly midget sized and wasn't well nourished, so he had to carry the baby longer to make it healthy. I Drove my father and his wife crazy, I wasn't allowed anywhere without a person with me. I slept in my brother's room with him. I couldn't walk around in the house alone like I had before. I was ready to cry with relief when the pain kicked in."

"Pain? your water didn't break?" Carlisle asks from his seat on the couch. He'd arrived as I was cooking.

"No. Magic has a way to make sure that all the right stuff is there to make a child and provide room for it in the carrier's body. It's why only certain people can do it, you have to have the right kind of magic. But, there's no real way to get to the magical sac that holds the baby. No in or out besides the tube to make sure they can eat and the one to dump everything they expel." I see Emmett make a face at that and I roll my eyes. Catching Esme and Rosalie's curious looks I continue.

"When they decide that they want to come out, they drop like a normal child would but then they push against the abdominal wall. It's like…. Someone tearing at you from the inside out. And there's no place for them to go. I was told by a nurse that male carriers are actually more painfilled deliveries than the female ones are. The pain is sudden and debilitating. I was walking to the kitchen with my father when it hit and I fell right there, in the middle of the hall, and couldn't be moved. James was delivered by my father's wife in the second white hallway, three doors away from the library. They cut you open without numbing anything and pull everything out. Then they can numb it all and mend you. I don't even have a scar because my father's wife was so good at it." I admit, rubbing at my lower stomach at the thought. It was, by far, the most painful thing I'd ever gone through in my life. But James was here because of it, and honestly, I'd do it again one day for another child.

 _For anyone interested, I'm going to start posting updates on when I should get chapters out, if anything is going to be later than normal, and maybe some extra scenes from other people's points of views later on, on Tumblr. I made an account under the same username,_ thisisfaycountri . _Feel free to talk to me, ask questions, and things like that through there. I can't always get on FF and answer right away (or at all, as my luck usually has it)._


	6. Chapter 6

"Harry!"

"Not today," I answer Bella's excited yell in a soft tone. She stops mid-sprint to hug me and her smile falls.

"Huh?"

"Last night wasn't a good night. James was running a fever all night. I eventually had to take him to a doctor." I explain as I shift my bag onto my back from my bike.

"Oh no! Is he okay?"

"Tom is watching him. If he doesn't get better by the time I'm off work I'm going to have to take him to the ER." I explain, rubbing at my face tiredly.

"Did you sleep at all?"

"No."

"That's not good." Edward pipes up from next to her. I give him an unamused look.

"Expert advice from a nightwalker," I say blandly. He looks startled a moment before a slow grin spreads over his face.

"Was that- did you just make a joke?" he asks in surprise.

"I'm hilarious." I point out as we make it into the main building. He laughs in return. I check my phone before turning the sound off. There was no way I was turning it all the way off today, not with James at home fussy. This was the first time I had left him with Tom without me there while he was sick, I felt like Tom couldn't handle it. He was good with James but we both panic when he so much as gets scratched, there was no way he could calm himself if James' temperature spikes again.

"You're going to be a nervous wreck," Bella observes. I give her a small smile at that.

"Yeah, I am. It's okay. I'm sorry that I'm skipping out on our trip. Again." I offer. She had invited James and me to the beach at the reservation, and so far I had canceled three times. The first week it was too cold and I was afraid that James would get sick. The second time Tom had invited my father over without telling me so I had unexpectedly been entertaining him all day. And now, James was sick.

"Harry, really, it's okay."

"I'll have to let Jasper know that we won't be able to study unless he comes to my place." I murmur, looking around for the blond.

"Huh?"  
"He was going to tutor me again. I wasn't going to say no! But I won't be able to focus if I'm out of school and James is sick. I think we'll just have to wait until next week." I muse to myself. Bella sighs as we reach my first class.

"I wish you hadn't skipped a grade."

"Technically I skipped several. I didn't study in school past 11, and I caught up while I was pregnant." I tell her lowly, making sure no one that didn't already know about me could hear it.

"That's impressive." Emmetts voice next to me has me jumping and I scowl, swatting at him as he laughs.

 **HPJBHPJBHPJBHPJB**

"Tom!" I whine as he shoves my leather jacket at me.

"Nope. James is fine, just tired. No fever, no getting sick. You go out and have fun. Be a kid!" he says sternly, pushing me towards the front door.

"Bella-"

"Is meeting you at the edge of the reserve. There's no way you can miss her hunk of metal. Just _go_." he says firmly, arms crossed.

"But what if-"

"Harry. Trust me. If something happens I will call you. I promise! Go be a 17-year-old. Take a hangover potion and a hangover cure with you from the potions cabinet and have fun." he summons said potions and thrusts them into my hands before I'm shut out of my own house. I huff in annoyance, pondering just throwing the bottles at the door and breaking back in, but I knew that he would just kick me out again.

"Fine," I mutter to myself, moving to my bike. I shrink the potions and stick them in a zipping pocket before I start the bike, still grumbling.

I'm so focused on mouthing off about Tom that I almost don't realize it when Bellas truck roars to life in front of me and begins moving. I follow her immediately though, and soon I'm driving along the coastline and getting a fantastic view of the sea. I've only been a few times, despite living in areas that it was a shorter drive than this to see it. It was already getting dark, I had spent the day trying to clean the house. Tom was a good wizard, but he was a horrible maid.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Bella squeals as she throws herself at me while I'm still straddling my bike.

"Whoa, hey, don't knock me over!" I gripe, keeping ahold of her waist as she stumbles and nearly topples me and the bike to the ground.

"Sorry! I'm just excited. You can meet Jake!"

"Who?"

"Well, his dad is friends with Charlie, but I consider him one of my best friends now. He's my age, goes to school here on the reservation. He's MASSIVE though. Think Emmett, but tanner."

I laugh at that description and let her go, helping her steady herself before standing from my bike.

"Come on then, I hear Quil and Embry so Jacob's close." She tugs my hand, tripping almost immediately so that I have to steady her.

"It's a good thing that boyfriend of yours is so quick," I tell her teasingly. She gasps slightly and looks at me wide-eyed.

"Oh, I forgot! Harry, the Quileute's-"

"Bella! We have burgers this time!" I hear someone shout as they appear over the hill that we were slowly climbing. They stop short, taking in her leaning on me heavily and our intertwined arms.

"Uh… Whose your… friend?" they asked curiously.

"Quil! This is Harry, I knew him in Arizona. He moved to town recently. I told Jake he was coming did he not tell you all?" she asks brightly, clutching at my arm a little tighter than necessary.

"No…. Jake? Did you know about Bella's friend?" The boy turns again as we crest the hill with him. I want to pout when I realize the man was taller then I was by at least a foot, most likely a foot and a half.

"Shit yeah, Sorry." Someone to the left with shaggier hair answers, not looking up from the grill they were working on.

"Well hello. I'm Harry Potter. Like Bella said, we went to school together when she lived with her mum. " I introduce myself generally. A few girls scattered in the sea of men wave and introduce themselves, and a man named Seth bounces over and hugs Bella brightly.

"We miss you!"

"Harry is my excuse to come down more often. Hopefully, we can bring James down next time, but since he couldn't today, I figured this more laid back, teenage fun was better." she teases, aiming an elbow at me.

"James? Another person on our land?" a man asks sharply, crossing his arms. I bristle at that.

"I hardly doubt my 17-month-old son is going to be much of a bother to your land, except maybe pluck a few flowers for his uncles,'' I say sharply back. There's a stunned silence and I feel a muscle in my jaw tick.

"Calm down Harry, they just don't like new people. Reminds me of someone," she says pointedly giving me a look. I had been less than nice the first few times Tom made me interact with her.

"You have a son?" one of the girls- Kim I think she said her name was- asks hesitantly. The 'where's the mom' question as always in the air.

"I do. She's dead. He was running a fever yesterday and I was pretty much locked out of the house and told to have a good time and not come home if I got drunk." I explain, taking a seat on one of the logs around the fire that was going away from the grill.

"You got any pictures of your kid?" The excited man that had hugged Bella asks eagerly as he sits next to me. I'm caught off guard at that.

"Er, sure…?" I trail off.

"Seth! Sorry, I'm Seth. I'm 15, how old are you?"

"fifteen my left tit! You're huge!" I exclaim indignantly. His eyes blow wide as several people around me snort and laugh.

"Seth is 15, Jacob, Quil, Embry, and Jared are 16, Collin, Brady, and Paul are 17 like you, and Leah is 18. Sam is 20." Bella explains patiently as I start grumbling about the unfairness of it all. I pull my phone out and open my gallery. Most pictures I had was of James so it wasn't hard to find one of him.

"Ooooh, he's cute!" The boy exclaims, beaming.

"Thank you," I say, softer.

"No problem. So where are you from?" he asks brightly.

"Around. I'm from Britain originally. I've lived in several places in the states because I'm living with my uncle right now, and he moves a lot for his job." I explain patiently.

"Sounds exciting. Why are you living with your uncle?"

"My mother is dead and I'm an illegitimate child, so my father can't claim me legally. I have a stepbrother and my stepmother talks to me nearly every day."

"What does your uncle do?"

"He tests security systems." I shrug off. Which wasn't wrong, technically. Just usually wards more than muggle systems.

"Seth, leave the kid alone." a girl speaks up across the fire. She looked like him, so I was assuming that she was a sibling. He pouts but goes to the grill to bother Bella's friend, Jake. She'd gone to talk to him as well, so I sat near the fire and listened to the people around me.

Surprisingly, I was relaxing. For the first time since I had James, there wasn't school or a child demanding my attention. I just got to…. Relax.

"Okay guys, Food's ready!" I hear Bellas friend call, and I glance in their direction in surprise. There was a mountain of burgers in front of him as he moved to a table and set them down with ease. He spins with a beaming smile and I notice for the first time that he has no shirt on, that he's got almost black brown eyes, and that he's easily the tallest of the group. We make eye contact for a brief second and he freezes before Bella is entering my vision again.

"Come on, Jake's grilling is the best!"

"Better than mine?" I say, mock affronted. She pauses, before shrugging and nodding.

"Yeah, definitely better than yours." She agrees, grinning as she tugs me to the table again.

 **JBHPJBHPJBHPJBHP**

 _Green._

It was my new favorite color.

His hair moves with the wind that picks up for the brief second we make eye contact and my world tilts, my chest constricts and I can't _breathe_ -

And just as suddenly it rights itself around this beautiful man. My lungs move freely, easier than before. My heart is pounding, tapping a rhythm in my chest that I never thought I'd have.

 _I found him, I found him, I found him._

I've known for years, since I was 12 at least, that I liked men more than women. The tribe hadn't been too concerned about it, and the pack didn't care because I saw them as brothers. We just assumed that I would never imprint because I would never want to have kids with a woman.

 _I found him_.

I turn wide, startled eyes in Sam's direction and his brow furrows in concern before he jerks his head away from everyone else, into the trees. I glance back at him, but he's engrossed in my best friend, head tilted as she talks animatedly and drags him closer to the food I had made. He's got a small smirk on his face, like what she's saying is amusing.

"Jacob." Sams' voice has me turning reluctantly and following him into the woods.

"What's wrong?" he asks gruffly. I stutter. Who do I explain what I'm feeling? What I'm seeing for the first time?

My start and stop sentences finally annoy him enough that he shakes my shoulder roughly.

"Show me," he says firmly. I nod eagerly and we quickly change and shift so that we could share sights, sounds, feelings. I open up and let him see what had happened in the past five minutes, though it felt much longer to me. When we change back he's quiet, a puzzled, but not upset look on his face.

"What is it?" I murmur. I was younger than some of the members, but I was his Beta and he talked to me more than the others anyway.

"It's just, Imprinting is for making sure there are children with the gene. If you imprinted, that just means that…"

"But he's a _guy_. " I exclaim in surprise. Sam shrugs once.

"I'm happy for you," he says into the brief silence, a grin splitting his face now. I feel a matching one spread on my face and I laugh a little bewilderedly.

"Fuck, I'm screwed! How am I supposed to tell him?" I ask in concern.

"Friends first, fucking later," he calls over his shoulder, already walking away.

"Sam!" I exclaim in shock, moving to join him. He laughs, slinging an arm over my shoulders. He has to stand on his tiptoes to do so and that makes me smug.

"Just talk to him. He's friends with Bella already, it should be easy."

"Oh, Jeez, he has a kid already! Is he even gay?" I realize, remembering everything that Bella had told me about her good friend in Arizona. He shrugs one shoulder at me and I scowl. That wasn't helping!

"Jake! Hey, Jake, Harry wants to know what seasoning you use for the burgers!" Bellas' voice makes my head whip around. She was leaning against the inside of one of his legs as he sits on a log. If I didn't know that she loved Edward, I would say they looked like a couple. I shake that nasty thought off. His name was Harry, that's right. He had introduced himself, but I hadn't caught it.

"Oh, uh, er, family recipe." I scratch at my head as I stutter out the response. Sam slaps at my back and moves to the group of boys- Seth, Paul, Embry, and Quil- that were having an eating contest to talk to them in a hushed tone. From the looks shot my way, he was telling them so they weren't in for a nasty surprise next time I patrolled with someone.

"This is sinful." he declares, taking another bite and making an almost obscene noise. I feel my face flush as Bella laughs and swats at his leg.

"Harry, behave!"

"I don't find people who can cook as I can very often!" He says back, tugging on her hair playfully.

"Don't get too excited, about the only thing Jake can cook is food on a grill. Give him anything else and it's destroyed." Leah says dryly, making Emily laugh next to her. I frown and roll my eyes at the two of them, making them share a smirk.

"Damn. well. I'll take what I can get, no one else Bella hangs out with knows how to cook." He says with a nod and a snort from Bella who chokes on the food she was eating.

"They know Harry."

"Fucking Christ, do they just run around telling everyone then? Yoohoo, look at me, I like chasing cougars in the sunlight while I sparkle and I'll beat ya to death if you say something? How do they go so long without getting caught?" He exclaims, food forgotten.

The bonfire goes quiet again.

"You know about vampires?"

"Course I do. A standard curriculum where I come from," he answers Sam, shrugging.

"Can you…? Bella trails off, shocked, and he thinks a moment before shrugging.

"Why do you know about the Cullens then?" he asks instead of answering their questions.

"Tribe business," Sam says shortly.

"Sam-" I start, but he gives me a warning glare and I huff.

"Listen, I know that you probably like everything to be all hush hush but I've got a few more options then you think. Either you all tell me and I get your side, I ask the Cullens and I get their side, or I make a quick call across the pond and my ever-helpful moony gives me a textbook answer in three to five business days. I'd rather just get the story while I finish this delicious food." he says, motioning to the still unfinished burger. Sam growls lowly at him, and he surprises me by bearing his teeth back.

"Don't you growl at me, I've got a bigger bite then you do." he snaps, suddenly angry.

"Harry-"

"No! I haven't done anything wrong and I'm trying to meet a middle ground here! There's nothing wrong with sharing to help each other out, and I don't see why he's got to be a dick about it!" Harry cuts Bella off impatiently.

"Watch how you speak about him!" Paul defends immediately. I see something spark in Harry's eye. I'm not sure what it was, but something in my gut told me he had just found a way to get his answers.

"I'm pretty sure I could take you if I had to, so just sit back down yeah?" he says, his voice too light.

"Paul," Sams warning was lost as his face flushed.

"A little hot under the collar?" Harry says next, moving to stand between Paul and Bella. I was surprised at that move. He glances from me to Sam, to Paul, and eventually every pack member as Paul begins to shake.

"Shifters?" he murmurs, surprise coloring his voice.

"Shifters? _Here_? Oh, hell. Moony is going to have cubs!" he's muttering to himself again.

"Listen Bells, I should just… go. I could upset a lot here." he says, anxiety suddenly lacing his voice.

"What? But-"

"I should explain later, I will explain later, but this is pack land, isn't it? Fuck no wonder I felt awful coming here. And let me guess, you're Alpha?" he glances at Sam to my shock. How did he _know_ all of this?

"I want to know what you know," Sam says coldly.

"Okay okay, just not here? I'm serious. We're going to have a knock out drag out fight on our hands if our tempers get too ruffled before this is settled. Neutral… is there someplace that isn't Cullen or tribe land that we could meet? Tomorrow?"

"Why tomorrow? Just tell us now!" Paul explodes angrily. Harry's eyes flash again.

"Sit down _cub._ " his voice echos and has Paul falling to his ass, stunned.

"What-how?"

"Hell," Harry mutters, rubbing hands over his face before lacing them behind his head. His worn leather jacket flairs at his ribcage as he does so and I'm captivated a moment by the lines his plain black tee shirt was making to his jeans.

 _Concentrate!_ I could practically hear Sam in my head and I focus again. Just because he was my imprint didn't mean that he wasn't a threat if he already knows about us and can order one of the stronger willed ones of us around.

"One of my honorary uncles is a true child of the moon. My father and my godfather shift with him every full moon until my father died. It's something we can… train to do. I'm an alpha, obviously, which is why I was so tense! I couldn't figure it out. Usually, I keep that side locked up unless I'm with moony. I didn't even scent… This is bad. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be on your land." he puts his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Train? This is a blood trait boy, not something you can learn!" Sam growls out.

"Not if you're a wizard like I am. Listen, You probably have some kind of squib lines in the tribe. A magic that isn't enough to be real magic. Most shifters are that way anyway. I haven't ever heard of any way out in America, which is why I was shocked. I'm not here to fight, or argue. I wasn't aware that there were shifters here or I would have asked to meet you sooner." He apologizes again. He looked uncertain and anxious, and that did it for me.

"I'll walk you to my dads. He can call a council meeting .that will be about as neutral as it can get, we'll set it for tomorrow." I tell him.

"Jacob!" Sam turns to me, shocked, but I give him a sharp look. My imprint was doing everything he could to avoid a confrontation, and I was going to help him if I could. There was no point in making everyone anxious when it could easily be resolved.

"Bella, I think you should go home," Sam says, softer. She nods from her spiraled position on the ground, eyeing Harry wearily.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's okay bells. Come over tomorrow and I'll talk to you and you can see James," he tells her gently, not looking away from Paul and Sam who were both crowding his space at the moment. She stands and leaves, already on her phone, and I want to growl in frustration. Instead, I start walking up the hill and after a moment, Harry follows me.

 _AN: No, I'm not dead. Yes, I've decided this is a Harry and Jacob pairing. Yes, I already have plans for the next chapter that may or may not involve James meeting Jacob. I will have to make a few plot decisions first, but fumbling teenager Jacob will learn how to hold a toddler next chapter._


	7. Chapter 7

"Soo, your father?" I ask conversationally to Bellas friend as we walk up the hill. The bonfire was still quite behind us, so I wouldn't be surprised if they could hear us.

"Billy Black."

"Black?" I ask sharply. At his startled look I make a face.

"My godfather, Sirius Black. Maybe you descended from his magical line?"

"Magical line?" he asks in confusion, pausing at the top of the hill.

"Magical line. I said I was a wizard, didn't I?" I explain as I move towards my bike.

" I didn't think- is that a Harley 48?" he cuts himself off as he takes in my bike. I grin proudly.

"Yes, yes it is. Tom bought it for me when we moved here."

"It's _beautiful_. He says in awe, eyeing the matte black bike enviously.

"Thank you. Where's your ride?" I ask, motioning to the vehicles in the parking lot. He motions to an old red rabbit and I think it over for a moment before pulling out my wand and shrinking my bike to fit in my pocket.

To see him gaping like a fish was pretty entertaining.

"Your dad?" I ask when he doesn't seem to be moving.

"I- oh, er, right, dad." he moves to his door and I climb in the other side before we start heading to his father's house.

"Dad!" He calls as he enters the house. It was just past seven, so they should still be awake according to Jacob.

"Living room son!" I hear a rough voice say. I shift in the kitchen uncomfortably as they have a low conversation I don't try to hear until a man wheels himself into the kitchen with me.

"You're Harry Potter?" he asks curiously, holding out his hand. I shake it as I agree with him and he huffs.

"Well, you're right about us descending from squibs. It was long before our last name changed to Black though. I'll call the council. Jacob said you were an alpha?"

"Of sorts. I'm an animagus and I can change into a wolf, and between myself, moony, and his son, Teddy, I'm the alpha of that little… pack." I explain, shifting under his hard stare. This man could sniff out a lie from a hundred miles away it seems.

"We can meet tomorrow, after five."

"I'm fine with that." I agree immediately.

"I'll need your number so that I can give you the exact time. And it will probably be in a clearing outside of the treaty lines. I won't be there but the other, older members will be." He warns me as he pulls an old flip phone out. I recite my number dutifully.

"Thank you, sir," I say when he's finished. He gives me an odd look but dismisses it, telling me goodnight. He wheels away and Jacob turns to me with a curious look.

"I, er, I can walk you out?" he says hesitantly. I make a lead the way motion and we step out onto his porch.

"Hey, can I ask something about… wizards?" he asks, face already flamming red. I want to grin at him. He was cute in the obviously innocent kind of way. Much like I must have been with Cedric, actually.

"Sure, ask away."

"Do you… when you change into an animal, do you have a… we call them imprints, but they're-"

"Soulmates, yeah. We have them, but it isn't an instant thing like I've heard Shifters are though. Usually, it's triggered by a kiss, which means you've romantically became attracted to them beforehand anyway. James' other father used to go on and on about us being soulmates, but I knew we weren't." I explain.

"Other father?"

"Oh, er, yeah. Wizard thing. I gave birth to James about five months after his other father had passed. I was still a minor, it was…. Quite the scandal." I explain, realizing that just because I told them I was a wizard doesn't mean that they were okay with me being gay.

"Anyway, It's not an uncommon thing like you're thinking, so don't worry about it, okay?" I reassure him. Obviously, he was worried about finding 'the one' like everyone else who was made aware they had someone out there was. I unshrink my bike and he makes a strangled noise before he stops me again.

"If your son is feeling better tomorrow, I'd love to meet him before we meet up with the council. Is anyone going to be watching him while you have the meeting?"

"My uncle will be. I think Bella is wanting to meet up for breakfast if you want to join us, I'm sure she'd like assurance that she didn't ruin our night." I agree.

"She definitely didn't do that," he says, smirking slightly. He looked much older like that, shocking me. He gives me a halfhearted wave before he heads back inside and I start my bike, shaking my head.

~HP~HP~hp~

"James we do not eat other peoples hair!" I exclaim as Bella giggles, giving the boy a kiss instead of reprimanding him.

"He's hungry."

"He can eat in a few minutes. He was wanting pancakes earlier, and threw an absolute fit that I wasn't making any." I say sharply. He'd been cranky all morning and I was tired enough without him acting out too.

"There's Jacob!" She points and waves over my left shoulder and I turn and give a small wave to him. He was in a black tee shirt and cargo shorts, as well as some flipflops.

"Hey, Jacob! This is James. James, this is Jacob." Bella introduces them. I grin when James goes to hide in Bella's hair, not something he normally does.

"It's okay Jamie, he's nice," I assure my son, petting his hair once before grinning up at Jacob.

"Good morning, ready for food?"

"I'm always hungry." He agrees readily, eyeing James instead of looking at me. He looked weary, and I smirk internally. By the end of the day, I _would_ have him holding my kid. He had the, I've never seen a toddler in real life what do I do look on him.

"Come on then, James is fussy enough without the two of you whining." I tease, taking James as Bella loops arms with Jacob and we head inside. We sit and order quickly as I set a few crayons and a placemat in front of a suddenly very concentrated James.

"He really is cute," Jacob says from across from me. I smile at that. The easiest way to get me to like you is to compliment my kid.

"He's a pain but I love him. He's a monster today." I say fondly, tucking some of James' hair behind his ear.

"How old is he?"

"A little less than a year and a half."

"I don't think I've ever been around a kid so young."

"I can tell." I tease, grinning when his tan skin goes red around his cheeks.

"Da! Nana!" he draws our attention as he points excitedly to a picture of a banana on the placemat he was coloring. It was Purple where he had managed to get the crayon actually in the lines.

"That's right Jamie. And what's this?" I ask, pointing next to it. He frowns at the picture before nodding very firmly to himself.

"Nana."

"Apple love." I correct, ruffling his hair. He huffs at me, obviously not believing me as he goes back to coloring.

"How much can he talk?" Jacob asks curiously.

"Only a little right now. Da, Look, Up, no, nana, and 'please' are the only ones we hear a lot right now, but we're working on it." I explain to the boy. He nods to himself as he watches James curiously.

"Do you not have any siblings?" I ask him.

"Oh, er, two older sisters. Both of them live off the reservation. Rachel and Rebecca, my older twin sisters."

"I see. How much older are they to you?"

"Six years. Do you not have any siblings?"

"Uh, kind of. I have a teen around my age that is considered by most my father's kid, but he isn't really." I explain at his curious look.

"How…?" He trails off like he doesn't want to ask and I shrug.

"Draco is Harry's stepmother's kid," Bella explains a little easier. I forgot that that was what I had told her when she had asked about the family portrait we had taken right after James had been born.

"But everyone thinks that he's also your fathers?" Jacob asks, looking between the two of us curiously.

"It was arranged, so They each have their own lovers. Draco is a byproduct of the lover and Narcissa, but not everyone knows that they see other people, so My father claimed him as his. My other parent was my father's lover, so he couldn't claim me right away, or after they died. I lived with my stepparent's sister for a while, and I finally moved in with my father when we found out that James was on his way. I went with Uncle Tom when it was obvious that people were looking for me and my father didn't want me hurt."

"Wait so they just… let the other have a lover?" he asks, obviously scandalized. I shrug one shoulder in response.

"It's a common practice for… people like me, when you're contracted to marry your cousins or someone who is fifteen years older." I try to explain, shooting a glance around the room.

"Oh, er, right. That's… different." He mutters to himself, frowning.

"I didn't say it was the right thing to do. If you're married to someone you should go finding love somewhere else, too. But that was a different generation. He didn't sign me off, so I'm free to pick and choose who I settle down with. Draco has a contract but he truly loves his match, so I don't see him cheating on her. " I defend my family. Before he can retort, our food comes and I busy myself cutting the small pancake enough for James to eat and making sure his cup has a secure enough lid for him. When he digs in I start on my bacon, eggs, sausage, and biscuit platter, having skipped breakfast with Tom to eat a bigger one now.

"Jamie slow down," I warn him when I see him shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming rate. I see his glance and I look up to see Jacob doing the same thing.

"Jacob, slow down. Jamie is trying to copy you." I tell him, grinning as he freezes and nearly chokes.

"I, er, sorry," he mutters when he clears his throat. Bella giggles and coos at James, getting his attention, and they carry on his version of a conversation as they eat, giving me leave to eat in peace.

When we've finished, Bella runs to the bathroom and I clean James up as Jacob finishes up. Once James is sticky free, I turn and place him in a startled Jacob's arms.

"Hold him why I pay for the food," I tell him before turning and walking away. I hear him sputtering as I leave.

I take my time in line and I pay for the food. When turn I see Bella and Jacob outside. I'm surprised to see Jacob still holding James, having expected him to hand him off to Bella immediately after she got back. When I join them, I have to laugh.

James and Jacob were having a very intense staring match. Not glaring, really, just studying each other very closely. Jacob startles at my laugh and looks up with a small grin of his own.

"You trust me to hold your kid?" he asks in slight amazement. I shrug.

"You're a good guy, I can tell. So yeah, you can hold him. James, Uncle Tom is going to pick you up soon, okay? Da will be back here in a little bit." I tell him, bracing myself on Jacobs' arm for leverage to kiss James' cheek. Jacob was even taller then Tom was, so I had to lean up nearly on the tips of my toes to reach him.

"No!" He pouts and latches around Jacob's neck, turning away from me.

"Excuse you?"

"No! Stay!"

"James Cedric Potter!" I snap out a little shocked. He'd never clung to someone like that and he'd never outright ignored me.

"Stay!" he says again with his head buried in Jacobs' neck. I see the hair on his head ruffle and I glance around quickly, realizing his magic was acting up.

"Alright, you want to stay with Jacob? I'll text Tom to stay home and you can go with Jacob okay?" I tell him soothingly, not wanting him to turn into a cub or something like he was prone to doing in his magical tantrums.

I pet at his hair soothingly as he calms down, still braced against Jacob. When he's settled and almost asleep against Jacob I give him a weary look.

"You almost had an armful of puppy." I murmur.

"Huh?" he asks in surprise. I glance around again and when I see that there isn't anyone near that could hear us I shrug.

"I was studying to be an animagus while I was pregnant. I wasn't supposed to practice the actual transformation, but I was doing the meditation and reading and all the theory stuff. Anyway, when I was overdue with him I transformed into my sleep. A side effect of that is his accidental magic causes him to turn into his animagus form as well, which is a wolf cub currently. He doesn't do it often when it isn't accidental but sometimes when he has a nightmare he will wake up and want to cuddle as a wolf." I explain, finally letting go of his arm and moving to call Tom.

"He's already here." Bella speaks up from beside us for the first time. I glance at where she is looking and see Tom striding towards us.

"Tom, James had a bit of a fit. I think he's connected to Jacob somehow." I explain when he's gotten close enough.

"Connected?" Jacob asks in surprise.

"Connected. He's a bit of an empath. Not a lot, but just enough to grow emotional connections quickly. He seems to like you." I tease him. Tom gives Jacob a look I can't interpret and,then he's turning to Bella, offering his arm.

"Seeing as Harry will want to apparate his son and Jacob at the same time, would you like me to take you to the meeting spot?" he asks conversationally. She gives him a curious look as he leads her around the corner of the building, down a slight alleyway between three buildings. They disappear with a crack and I turn to Jacob.

"I, uh, I'm sorry about James. I'm not sure-"

"It's his choice, not yours. It just means he saw something in you he liked. Now, this isn't going to feel nice to you. James, hold your breath okay?"

"Kay!" He says brightly, finally moving his face away from Jacobs' neck.

"One, two, three!" he takes a big gulp of air in and I twist on the spot.

HPJBHPJBHPJBHPJBHPJB

"I'm never letting you do that again." Jacob moans from the ground. A delighted James is sat on his chest, patting at the muscle there and babbling at the boy. I smirk at him as Tom helps Bella from the ground. There are several others already there, but I focus on my sone and Jacob again.

"You alright there?"

"No. Just leave me here to die, yeah?"

I throw my head back and laugh at the pathetic answer. James, not understanding, laughs along and slaps at Jacobs' chest again, making the boy grunt.

"James, be nice. No hitting." I tell him, scooping him up. He puts up a small fuss but I ignore him as I motion for Jacob to take my hand so I can help him up. He huffs but takes my hand and is soon upright and catching James as he throws himself at him again.

"James, you do know you'll have to let him go eventually. He will have to go home." I tell him, but lean up to kiss the little boys cheek anyway. He giggles as we turn to the group waiting on us. I recognize Billy, and Sam, and Seth and Paul, but everyone else was mingled with a group of elders that I didn't know. I bow respectfully anyway.

"Hello everyone. For those of you unaware, I'm Harry Potter, son of James Potter and Lucius Malfoy. This is my son, James Potter, and my Uncle, Tom Riddle. Some of you may know Bella Swan, but she's also a good friend from when James was younger." I introduce my entourage and then smirk at Jacob.

"And my brat won't let go of him right now, but Jacob Black is one of your Pack members. They share a fondness for shoveling food in their mouths and my sons took that to mean he's his new tree."

I relax as a few people chuckle and om falls into step beside me. Jacob hesitates near me and I motion to his dad.

"Go sit with your father, you're going to want to be on their side anyway." I point out.

"But-"

"Take him with you. I could use the break." I tell him too cheerfully. He goes a little wide-eyed but settles on the ground next to Billy's wheelchair with James on his lap. Billy looks down at James for a moment, before James breaks the silence by touching the chair a bit reverently.

"Car!"

Tom and I share surprised looks- we hadn't heard that one before- as more people laugh.

"No Buddy, not quite." I correct him as I fold into a sitting position across from the group. Most of them were sitting on the ground, on a log, or standing, and Bella and Tom were obviously waiting for my lead. Bella sits immediately, but Tom grumbles and casts a dozen spells on himself and the ground before sitting as well.

"What was that?" Billy asks curiously.

"He made it so he wouldn't get dirty sitting on the ground, and that it wouldn't hurt his joints, and that the ground was soft. He also cast a detection spell so that if anyone with Malicious intent was behind him, he'd know." I explain as I pick at a blade of grass. I see James trying to mimic me and I grin, purposefully slowing down so he could try harder.

"So you're really a natural wizard. We haven't met one in…. Dozens of years now. My great grandfather was the last one to have met one." Billy says a little shocked.

"Most wizards fled America after the Salem witch trials. If they didn't, they're in New York. Most of us live in Britain or Australia. But yes, I'm a natural wizard. So is Tom, and James."

"You mentioned two men as your parents." Seth blurts into the silence. I give him an amused look as several people shush him and his face goes red.

"It is possible for a wizard to conceive a child. My carrier was James Potter. I was James' carrier. I found out I was pregnant with him just after his father died." I explain to the shocked and confused looks.

"You was, what, 15?"

"14. It was quite the scandal. A lot of magic goes into carrying a child. The carrier is over 17 before they can conceive, not for lack of trying on most peoples parts. So we didn't think anything of it when we were together, because I was so young. "

"But if there's one thing Harry knows how to do, it's break the word impossible." Tom cuts in. I feel my face flame at that and he laughs at me.

"I don't try to."

"No, you're just a ," I growl at him this time and that gets Billy's attention.

"Right, the real reason we're here. You're an Alpha wolf?"

"Relatively speaking. There's a four-year-old with Lycanthropy and his father, who see me as their Alpha. It's why Sam doesn't like me much. My pack may be small, but I do have a pack that I control and he feels on edge because I might try to control his pack. I won't, by the way. I hate being in charge." I tack on at the end when Sam scowls at me.

"But it would make everyone more comfortable if there were a few… rules." Billy says slowly.

"I figured."

"You can still come and go on the reservation, but please, have a pack member with you or at least have Sam know where you're going to be going. In return, if we go into town we will let you know so that you are aware of the pack's movements on your territory. And yes, we will consider Forks your territory, since you don't seem as affected by Vampires as we are."

"My great something something-something on the Potter side married a vampire, so as long as that little bit of vampiric blood is in my system I'm not bothered by them. It's minuscule at this point, which is why it doesn't trigger you all."

"Wait, Vampires can have kids?" Bella cuts in in shock.

"Er, yeah. Various ways. Naturally, if its a male and a human female, though it's extremely painful and deadly to the woman if they aren't careful with the child's birth. If it's a female and a male or a human male, there are some potions that need to be involved but they can still have kids. It will still hurt like hell, but they won't die. The carrying time is, what, a week? Two?" I glance at Tom who nods.

"And then the baby eats its way out. The child grows at an alarming rate for about two years, but that makes it about 10. After that, they slow down and around 20 they stop growing completely and are then considered fully vampiric, though they can digest food still."

"And one of these… born vampires are in your ancestry?"

"Yeah. They married all humans though, so the trait was bred out around my great grandmothers time, though she aged slowly."

"We can discuss this another time if we'd like. But for now, the rules." Billy cuts in gently. I nod quickly, realizing we'd gone off track, again.

"Sam, Jacob, and I would like to meet with you once a month, at least, for updates on any unusual activity. We'd also like you to have all of the pack and elder numbers, and we would like to all have yours. And in case of an emergency, we would like to know that we can call on you in aide."

"It would depend on the situation and what light I could shed on it. If it's about vampires and you all just end up being prejudice about it, I'm not going to pledge to fight for you on an issue that shouldn't be fought over." I say simply. Billy doesn't look surprised, but Sam is furious. He keeps his mouth shut when the elders agree though.


End file.
